Improve Your Sleep with Your Food and Diet

What you eat every day can have a drastic effect on how you sleep at night. Caffeine is a given for many in the morning but can leave you feeling restless and anxious come bedtime. Consider cutting it out of your diet to improve your quality of sleep over time.

Also, consider adding foods with sleep-promoting properties. Magnesium is a natural sedative, so consuming foods that are rich in this mineral can help improve sleep as well. Foods that are high in magnesium tend to be dark leafy vegetables, almonds, seeds, whole grains, and bananas. This smoothie recipe has lots of magnesium-rich foods and is a delicious way to improve your sleep while packing a nutritional punch.

Cut Back on the Booze

The relationship between alcohol and sleep is a tricky one. Having a few glasses of wine at night is a common way to unwind after a long day. Many people claim to feel sleepy after drinking alcohol because alcohol is technically a sedative. However, alcohol actually disrupts your REM cycle because it causes brain activity to slow down. Not falling into regular REM cycle sleep can cause insomnia and sleep disruptions, leaving you feeling groggy and tired the next day. 

Ditch the nightcap if you want to wake up feeling refreshed. 

Read more: 5 Big Habits That Hurt Your Skin

Natural Boosts

Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland of your brain. It is responsible for telling your body when it’s time to fall asleep and when it’s time to wake up. Melatonin levels differ from person to person and usually depend on how much light you get per day. Research shows that taking melatonin supplements can help people with insomnia fall asleep faster and also stay asleep throughout the night.

Chamomile and lavender are well-known for their calming properties and are often recommended for people looking for a little help with insomnia. A warming cup of tea, a soothing eye pillow, or an essential oil diffuser can all offer the relaxing benefits you’re looking for. 

An herb you might consider using is kratom. Kratom comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia and could offer a sense of calm, allowing you to wander off to dreamland with less worry. To quiet your mind, try red vein kratom for some extra relaxation so you can sleep better.

Meditation

Meditation is the practice of mind and body relaxation. It’s a popular option for people who have trouble sleeping because it’s completely free — all it takes is a little focus. Meditating before bed can help calm you down, making you more likely to fall asleep. Consider following along with deep breathing techniques to slow down your heart rate, which lowers the levels of cortisol in your body. Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone, so by managing your heart rate, you are producing less stress.

Practicing mindfulness and meditation and taking control of your thoughts can be a great way to reduce anxieties that may creep up before bedtime. If you need a little guidance, there are many apps, podcasts, and videos that teach meditation and breathing techniques. 

Control the Environment

The space you sleep in can have a huge effect on the quality of rest you’re getting. The best kinds of environments for sleeping in are cooler, darker ones. Consider turning the heat down to a slightly colder temperature at night and purchasing blinds that block out any light.

Everyone is different — some people can only sleep in total silence, while others need some background noise to drift off to. If you’re in the latter group, turning on a noise machine with rain or ocean sounds. This can aid with falling and staying asleep.

We know it’s common for most people to scroll on their phone before bedtime, but staring at bright screens is not conducive to good sleep. Consider introducing a ‘no screen time’ hour before you want to sleep to help your brain wind down.

Improve Your Sleep with Regular Exercise

It’s annoying, but it’s true. Getting regular exercise has been scientifically proven to greatly improve your sleep, your overall mood, and your overall health. But don’t worry — you don’t need to start intensive training to reap the benefits of exercise. Even moderate workouts just a few times a week have been shown to help in all the areas mentioned before. 

Try taking a brisk 30-minute walk every day, or go for a jog a few times a week. You don’t need a gym membership to start moving around. Getting your heart rate pumping for a bit every day can help lower the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and stay asleep. It’s very important to get back in touch with your body to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  

Start Sleeping Better Today

You don’t need heavy prescriptions to get a good night’s sleep. All you need to do is change some of your habits, like cutting back on alcohol, watching what you eat, and getting regular exercise. Meditation and supplements can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, too. Find the option that works best for you and stick with it. 

The post Six Natural Ways To Improve Your Sleep appeared first on Food Health & Parenting Tips.

Melatonin isn’t the only short cut to better sleep quality – essential oils use plant-based fragrances with an “essence” extracted for a potent oil. Ideally, your essential oil shouldn’t be blended with other scents or chemicals. The fragrance can come from petals, bark, roots, herbs, or flowers.

What is Aromatherapy, and how does it work?

Aromatherapy is when essential oils (or anything else inhaled) activates smell receptors in your nose. These receptors send messages to your brain via the nervous system. For insomniacs, the message is to relax and peacefully doze off. It’s not used to replace medical treatments but is seen more as an all-natural way to supplement your existing routine.

The Best Essential Oils for Insomnia

Lavender:

Lavender is probably the most famous essential oil used for insomnia. It promotes sleep by increasing slow-wave sleep (the sleep that’s responsible for relaxing your muscles and slowing that heart rate down.)

Ylang Ylang:

It’s safe to say we’re obsessed with any skincare products infused with ylang-ylang. The addictive floral scent is courtesy of the ylang-ylang fruit, which comes from Indonesian Canaga trees. The scent isn’t just addictive – it’s soothing and shown to reduce stress and increase relaxation.

Jasmine:

Often consumed in tea, fragrant jasmine’s molecular composition is very similar to medicines often prescribed for insomnia. Double down and have a steaming cup before you spritz your room!

Clary sage:

This herbal and earthy essence has flowery undertones. And while we love the scent, it’s the magical abilities of clary sage that continuously awe us. Known as a natural sedative, clary sage reduces cortisol levels, a major reason for stress.

Chamomile:

Also often used as a bedtime tea, chamomile lowers depression and anxiety, often tied to insomnia. For centuries, chamomile has been used as herbal medicine to induce more calm in your system.

Peppermint:

We know – peppermint? For sleep? It might be invigorating for those with healthy airways. Still, if you have sleep apnea, septum issues, or blocked airways for some other reason, this natural anti-inflammatory herb can help open them up, so you can finally breathe and get some rest.

How to Use Your Essential Oil

1. You can rub a couple of drops directly on your forehead, neck, wrist, or chest. If you have sensitive skin, mix with a carrier oil such as coconut or grapeseed oil, which dilutes it.

2. Get it in the form of a candle. In aromatherapy candles, the wax is infused with essentials oil.

3. Place several drops of the essential oil in an air diffuser or a humidifier with a built-in air diffuser.

4. Add to water and place in a spray bottle and use it as a room spray or a pillow spray.

5. Add a few drops to a bath.

6. Use the steaming method. Add drops to boiling water and inhale the hot steam that comes out of it. Add a towel around your head to create a tent that holds the steam in.

Read more: 

• 9 Best Healing Herbs for Stress and Anxiety

The post  Essential Oils That Can Help With Insomnia appeared first on Food Health & Parenting Tips.

The Basics of Intuitive Eating

To understand how intuitive eating influences sleep quality, you should first know what intuitive eating is. These are the 10 principles of intuitive eating:

1. Reject the diet mentality: No quick fixes.
2. Honor your hunger: Don’t allow yourself to get so hungry you’re tempted to overeat.
3. Make peace with food: Don’t put any food off-limits.
4. Challenge the food police: Food behavior is neither good nor bad.
5. Respect your fullness: Listen to your body when it says you’re full.
6. Discover the satisfaction factor: Enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction of eating.
7. Honor your feelings without using food: Don’t try to fix your feelings with food.
8. Respect your body: Be realistic about your body shape.
9. Exercise, feel the difference: Enjoy feeling better with exercise rather than burning calories.
10. Honor your health: Choose foods that support your health and make you feel well.

Intuitive Eating and Sleep

Part of intuitive eating is choosing foods that offer the nutrition you need to live a healthy life. And food that helps you sleep is a big part of that. When you sleep well, you can support overall health and wellness.

In general, healthy foods support healthy sleep. So if you’re choosing nutritious food, you don’t necessarily need to obsess over particular ingredients or nutrients. But if you’re seeking out food that can help you sleep in particular, it’s a good idea to consider foods rich in nutrients that can help you sleep. These include:

• Tryptophan
• Carbohydrates
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Melatonin
• Vitamin B6

Some of the best foods for sleep offer one or more of these nutrients.

Foods That Can Help You Sleep Better Include

• Milk
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Nuts including walnuts, almonds, and pistachios
• Fish
• Beans
• Rice
• Bread
• Pasta
• Potatoes
• Yogurt
• Leafy greens, including kale
• Cherries
• Bananas
• Whole grains and oats
• Tomatoes
• Raw garlic
• Chickpeas

When you focus on healthy foods, you can improve your sleep quality. When you eat can make a difference, too.

For example, some foods don’t sit well when you’re trying to get to sleep. Eating a big meal before bed can keep you up at night, especially if you’re too full. And some people suffer from reflux or heartburn at night, which can be exacerbated by spicy food, caffeine, or alcohol, especially late in the day. You can sleep propped up on a pillow, but that’s not always comfortable.

It can be difficult for your body to relax and get to sleep if it’s too busy digesting. But at the same time, going to bed hungry might keep you up, as it can be tough to go to sleep when you really need to eat. Listen to your body and pay attention to cues of hunger or fullness so you can determine whether you should eat or not before bed.

Sleeping well can translate to being healthier, but you may need to start by looking at your diet first. Intuitive eating encourages you to listen to your body’s cues, which can help you choose foods that support good health. At the same time, listening to your body’s cues for sleep can help you get the rest you need, as you can head to bed when you’re feeling sleepy.

Read More:

• Let’s Reduce our Stress Levels. Learn to Breathe Like a Yogi
• Can CBD Help with Sleep? We Explore

The post How Intuitive Eating Impacts Sleep Quality appeared first on Food Health & Parenting Tips.

1. Set Your Alarm Clock for the Same Time Every Day

Waking up at a consistent time is more important than you might think. If you’re not naturally a morning person, it can be comfortable to hit the snooze button and sleep in. But for individuals with insomnia, training your body to wake up at the same time every day will provide a much-needed consistency.

2. Napping Can Contribute to Insomnia 

Power naps can help you recharge occasionally, but consider eliminating all naps (especially ones that take place later on in the afternoon or evening) if you want to become more naturally tired around bedtime.

3. Work Out in the Morning

Working out generally can help make you sleepier at night by tiring you out and regulating your body functions. Exercising too close to bedtime, however, can leave you wired and up all night. It “activates” you in a sense. Instead, work out before noon so that you have time to get the natural effects of tiredness to kick in.

4. No Blue Light

Many of us have a terrible habit of using electronic devices before bed. But that blue light wakes up our brains, signaling that it’s daytime. Instead, try to stop using laptops and phones at least an hour before bedtime. If you usually fall asleep with TV, try doing it with calming music instead, keeping the room dark. This will also improve your REM sleep, which is necessary for your body to repair itself.

5. Avoid Eating Heavily Before Bed

We all love a good buffet, but overeating food before bed can lead to poor digestion, heartburn, and frequent waking in the middle of the night. Avoid this discomfort by eating spicier or heavier foods earlier in the afternoon, and eating a filling salad for dinner rather than something starchy or carb-heavy.

6. Don’t Work, Study, or Make Calls From Bed

The bed is for sleeping. Using it for other purposes will make it harder to sleep since you complete different activities in it. If you work from bed, you’re likely to think about work when you’re trying to sleep. Let your bed be a canvas for your dreams and nothing else!

7. Practice Deep Breathing and Yoga Before Bed

Opening up your breath and your muscles can naturally relax your body before bed – think of it as a self-massage. Remember to do a relaxing form of yoga that stretches you and relaxes the body, such as Yin Yoga. Along with meditation, you might consider buying a weighted blanket, which has been known to reduce stress and anxiety for some people.

8. Sleep in a Cool Room

If your blanket is too heavy or your room is warm when you sleep in it, this might be the cause of your insomnia. Around 68 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature to sleep in. When our temperature drops at nightfall, it’s a signal for our bodies to start slowing down. A cool bedroom reinforces our sleepy instincts, which helps us fall asleep faster.

Read more:

• 5 Herbs for Women’s Health and Wellness
• Sel-Love: Be Kind to Yourself!
• Physical Activities That Help with Stress Relief

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